Many important policy issues regarding bank holding company mergers and acquisitions have come before the Board of Governors in the past few years. In many ways, the past two years have seen subtle changes in Board policy regarding the competitive issues raised by bank holding company applications. New interpretations have begun to emerge regarding several competitive issues:
- Horizontal acquisitions
- Chain banking
- Geographic and product market definitions
- Potential and probable future competition
- Mergers of bank holding companies
- Considerations of convenience and needs have also faced new interpretations.
In an effort to identify these issues in areas where policy is not settled, this article analyzes recent decisions on bank holding company applications.